Former surgeon, Sinaloa Cartel member linked to Mass. drug scheme sentenced to prison
A member of the Tijuana-based Sinaloa Cartel was recently sentenced to 63 months in prison after being linked to a drug and money laundering scheme.
Eber Alain Estrada Palafox, 39, also known as "Doctor," is a Mexican national who pleaded guilty in June to one count of conspiracy to distribute cocaine, one count of conspiracy to distribute heroin and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering.
He is subject to deportation once he's served his sentence, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration.
Palafox "conspired with a ring" of Massachusetts-based individuals to traffic the drugs from Mexico, through California, into New England and Massachusetts over two years.
He also admitted to conspiring to use a co-conspirator's auto dealership, State Line Auto Sales, in Enfield, Conn., to commit money laundering by wiring drug proceeds to his mother in Mexico.
Authorities say Palafox first traveled to Western Massachusetts in July 2015 to help with the arrival of ten kilograms of cocaine, according to court filings.
A sentencing memo described Palafox as having been raised in a "financially secure environment and he enjoyed a close bond with his parents."
"His childhood was free from substance abuse, domestic violence and physical or sexual abuse," the memo reads.
He excelled in school and went on to become a surgeon and obstetrician, the memo states, although it does not say where he practiced medicine.
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